How to Write 咏 (yǒng) — Meaning “to chant; to sing”

Imagine using your mouth (口) to sing a song that lasts forever (永). This visual of a never-ending tune helps link the parts to the meaning of "to chant; to sing."

Write the left radical 口 first with three strokes, keeping it small and square. Then write the right side 永 with five strokes: start with a dot, then a horizontal stroke, a left-falling stroke, a right-falling stroke, and finally a hook stroke. A common mistake is making the mouth too large or forgetting the hook at the end of 永.

The character 吁 (xū) means to sigh or shout, and has 口 on the left with 于 on the right, while 咏 uses 永. The character 吂 (máng) is very rare and means old or aged, with 口 and 亡; it is not used for singing. Visually, 咏 is the only one with the component 永, which gives it the meaning related to continuous chanting.

咏 is used in formal or literary contexts, such as in words like 咏唱 (to chant) and 歌咏 (to sing). It also appears in 咏叹调, which means "aria" in Western opera. This character is not common in daily conversation but is often seen in poetry, song titles, and classical music discussions.

Common words containing 咏 include: 咏唱 (yǒng chàng) — to chant; to sing; 歌咏 (gē yǒng) — to sing; to chant; 咏叹调 (yǒng tàn diào) — aria.